Method of vaporizing and spraying thick liquids



Patented Dec. 21, 1937 METHOD or VAPORIZING AND SPRAYING THICK LIQUIDS St. Joseph, Me.

No Drawing.

19 Claims.

finely divided form without the necessity of heating the same, in the treatment of feeds and the like.

It is a purpose. of my invention to provide a simple, inexpensive, and effective method for creating a vapor of thick viscous fluids or powders or a mixture thereof, wherein the vaporization is done entirely by mechanical forces, these forces being generated by whirling the material, the viscosity of which is to be reduced and which is to be made into a mist-like vapor, at a rapid rate so that the centrifugal force acting on such material due to such whirling will cause said material to be' thrown about and finely divided to create a vapor-like mist thereof, which is adapted to be sprayed or'otherwise utilized to apply the material in finely dividedform to anything to which it may be desired to apply the same. This mechanical vaporization by means of the whirling motion referred to, may be referred to as a mechanical atomization of the material.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will appear as the description thereof proceeds. I desire to have it understood, however, that I do not intend to limit myself to the particular details thereof described herein, except as defined in the claims.

In the carrying out of my improved method any suitable means may be provided for confining the viscous fluid, or the powdered solid material or a mixture of liquid and powder, while a whirl is being set up therein and any suitable means may be provided for setting up this whirl in the material while so confined. In my Patent No. 1,936,120, patented November 21, 1933, a form of apparatus for creating such a whirl, or setting up such a whirling motion in such material is shown and described. However, other means may be utilized to accomplish the method that forms the subject matter hereof. The whirl may be created by rotatable means, such as that shown in said patent, or any other means for creating a violent whirling motion of the material at a rapid rate of rotation. The thick or heavy viscous liquid, or other fluid or solid ma- Application January 21, 1935, Serial No. 2,705

terial, is, preferably, fed into the confined space inwhich the whirling motion is created, near the center or vortex of this whirling motion, and the feeding is, preferably, done continuously and the whirling carried on continuously.

The feeding of the liquid or powder, or both, as the case may be, can be either under pressure or not, as desired, at the point of entrance into the whirl. The suction created by whirling can be utilized to draw the material into the 10 vortex of the whirling mass of material at such a rate that the feed will be at the proper rate, if means is provided for feeding the material into the feed passage at a predetermined metered rate, proportional to the material to be treated 15 in the apparatus. The material may either be forced forwardly under pressure to the point. of discharge into the whirl of material previously mentioned, or not under any appreciable pressure, at the point of discharge, as preferred. 20 While the mechanical vaporization, or mechanical creation of a lesser degree of viscosity in the material might be carried on without confine- 'ment of the material inside of any chamber or other confining means, it is obvious that such unconfined whirling would cause the material to be discharged centrifugally at all points around the vortex or center of the whirl. However, by confining the material within a chamber or housing while the whirling istaking place, the discharge of the material can be controlled so that it will be directed where it is desired to apply the same in its vaporized, or finely divided mistlike, form.

My method accordingly further comprises the discharge of the vaporized mist-like form of the viscous fluid, or powdered material or mixture from an outlet of suitable size, which may be large or small, or of any shape desired, dependent upon the manner in which the material is 40 to be utilized or sprayed, or otherwise applied to some other object or material for coating it or mixing with it. The method comprises the discharge ofthis material from the outlet while it is still under the influence of the centrifugal force created bythe whirl to thus discharge the same in a mist-like, or vaporous spray.

A particular application of my method that is particularly advantageous and saves a great amount of expense over the method now utilized for producing the same product, is in the production of the so-called molasses feeds, which comprises the spraying and mixing with certain grains or fodder, or other feeds of relatively low nutritive value, such as chopped stalks and leaves of grains, or what is sometimes referred to as stover, and molasses, and possibly also other ingredients. The various dry ingredients such as stalks, leaves or grains, are spread out in a thin layer in finely divided form in order to be mixed'with the molasses, but due to the fact that the molasses is such an extremely viscous liquid it is necessary in the old methods to heat the same in order to apply it to the grain, or other material, that is to be mixed with the molasses. Even after heating it is impossible to spray this viscous molasses in a very fine spray by old methods on dry materials that are to be mixed or compounded with the molasses, and as a result a sticky wet mass is produced that must be heated in order that it will not spoil due to souring, or fermentation. It has accordingly been customary to bake the material after the molasses has been applied thereto so as to dry out the same sufiiciently to make it possible to keep it for any length of time and sell the same either in the form of cakes or powdered material. Bake ovens and other expensive equipment are necessary in order to carry out this old method and produce a saleable material. In the heating some of the food value of the molasses is lost.

My improved method of making a molasses feed comprises merely the conveying of a stream of the grain,- or stalks or stover, or other material that is to be used to form the basis of the feed, in a finely divided form, past an opening or orifice, or orifices, from which the molasses is sprayed after having been subjected to the whirling motion, or centrifugal forces set up by such whirling motion, to create a mist-like vapor of said molasses and to greatly decrease the viscosity thereof. The spraying is done by discharge from the chamber substantially radially of the whirl and not axially thereof. The molasses may be fed into the chamber in which the whirling is set up near the center of the whirl, or vortex, and a discharge opening or orifice, or orifices are provided in this chamber so situated relative to the layer of dry feed material, that is to be sprayed with said molasses, that the same will be applied evenly to this material as it passes the orifice, said orifice discharging the molasses therethrough while it is still being subjected to the whirling motion and under the influence of the centrifugal force, so that the same is very finely divided and is applied to the dry material in a mist-like spray. All that is necessary to complete the molasses feed product after such spraying is to thoroughly mix the same and put it in suitable containers. No heating of the molasses is necessary or particularly desirable, as the application of the cold molasses in this manner produces a coating on the particles of dry material in the feed that is so thin and the characteristics of the molasses have been so changed due to this cold vaporization and atomization thereof mechanically, that after being exposed to the air for a very brief period of time without any heating whatsoever it loses its stickiness and does not have sufficient dampness that there is any necessity for drying the same by .the application of heat thereto and the material can then be' sacked, or otherwise packed, without any danger of the same fermenting or souring. The feed material thus produced has been kept for many months without in any way deteriorating. By not applying any heat" to the molasses a greater food value thus results in the molasses feed thus produced, than where heating of the molasses and baking of the molasses and dry feed mixture is necessary to produce the molasses feed product.

While only one specific application of my method is described, it will be obvious that my method of vaporizing and spraying in a mist-like spray can be applied to many materials, either heavy viscous liquids or fluids, or heavy powders, or mixtures of liquids and powders, or for vaporizing, or vaporizing and spraying any liquid, for the application of the same to any object or objects for coating the same, or in any other way applying the material thereto in a widely spread out or finely divided form. While the specific application of the method described herein in connection with the manufacture of molasses feeds contemplates the spraying of the vaporized or finely divided material, it will be obvious that the fluidity can be increased and the viscosity reduced and in that way the mobility of any heavy powder or viscous fiuid, or mixture of powder and fiuid, can be increased by my method of applying a whirling motion thereto at a rapid I rate of rotation.

While it is obvious that for different materials the rate of rotation that may be desirable may be varied, it has been found that for many materials a rotation of the material, to be made into a mist-like vapor, that is satisfactory may be from approximately 1800 revolutions per minute to 2250 revolutions per minute. My improved method of increasing the mobility, or decreasing the viscosity, of such materials may thus be utilized without any spraying, if it is desired to carry out some other operation on said material than spraying it while in this finely divided, or mist-like vapor, form.

In the method of production of the molasses feed described above, the dry feed material can be agitated, while being sprayed with the vaporized mist-like molasses, should this be found desirable, to obtain the desired distribution 'of the molasses through the feed.

What I claini is:

1. The method of increasing the fluidity of heavy viscous fluids or heavy powders without heating the same comprising introducing said fluid or powder into a chamber, and imparting centrifugal force at high velocity thereto in said chamber. 1

2. The method of increasing the fluidity of heavy viscous. fluids or heavy powders and producing a mist-like spray thereof at substantially the temperature of the atmosphere comprising introducing said fluid or powder into a chamber, imparting centrifugal force at high velocity thereto in said chamber at substantially the temcomprising whirling a quantity thereof at a velocity such as to increase the fluidity thereof due to the centrifugal force set up by said whirling, and discharging said fiuid or powder through an orifice while under trifugal force.

the influence of said cen- 4. The method of preparing a feed composition including a heavy viscous liquid which comprises whirling a quantity thereof at a velocity such as to increase the fluidity thereof mechanically by centrifugal atomization without preheating the same, and spraying said atomized liquid on dry components of said composition.

5. The method of finely dividing heavy viscous \position, comprising whirling a quantity of mo lasses at substantially atmospheric temperature at a velocity such as to increase the fluidity thereof by centrifugal force acting on the same to create a mist-like fluid vapor thereof, and spraying said mist-like vapor of molasses at substantially atmospheric temperature on the dry ingredients thereof to coat the same.

7. The method of creating a mist-like fluid vapor directly from a heavy viscous fluid comprising subjecting said heavy viscous fluid to a whirling at high velocity in a chamber.

8. .The method of creating a mist-like spray of heavy viscous fluids or powders comprising subjecting said fluids orpowders to a whirling at high velocity without application of heat thereto while confined whereby centrifugal force vaporizes said fluid or powder, and releasing said vaporized fluid or powder from confinement without compressing the same while under the vaporizing influence of said centrifugal force.

9. The method of increasing the fluidity of heavy viscous fluid or heavy powders, and producing a mist-like spray thereof comprising introducing said fluid or powder into a chamber at substantially the temperature of the atmosphere, imparting centrifugal forcethereto in said chamber at substantially said temperature, and freely discharging said fluid or powder in an atomized form therefrom.

10. The method of preparing heavy viscous fluid or powder for spraying without the application of heat thereto comprising whirling a quantity thereof at a velocity such as to isothermally increase the fluidity thereof mechanically to produce atomization thereof due to the centrifugal force set up and discharging said atomized fluid or powder through an orifice to produce a spray.

11. The method of preparing a treated grain including a heavy viscous liquid or powder which comprises whirling a quantity of said viscous liquid or powder at substantially atmospheric temperature at a velocity such as to increase the fluidity thereof isothermally mechanically by centrifugal atomization and spraying said liquid or powder on grain.

l2. Themethod of creating a mist-like vapor' of liquids without application of heat thereto comprising subjecting said liquid to a'whirling at a high velocity while confined in a chamber.

13. The method of finely dividing fluid or powdered material comprising feeding the same into a chamber and subjecting saidfluid or powdered material to a rapid whirling motion without application of heat thereto at such a velocity as to cause mechanical atomization of said fluid or powdered material and freely discharging the same from said chamber through an orifice in an atomized form. I

14. The method of making a molasses feed composition, comprising whirling a quantity of said molasses at a velocity such as to increase the fluidity thereof by centrifugal force acting on the same to create a mist-like vapor thereof, and spraying said mist-like vapor of molasses on the dry ingredients thereof while agitating said dry ingredients.

15. The method of isothermally creating a finely. divided vapor of a heavy viscous mixture of liquid and powdered material, comprising subjecting said mixture to rapid whirling at high velocity at substantially the temperature of the atmosphere .to create a mist thereof.

16. The method of permanently decreasing the viscosity of a heavy viscous fluid comprising introducing said fluid into a chamber in a viscous condition in such quantity as to permit said fluid ing thereto while confined in said chamber a vito be thrown about in said chamber, and impartolent centrifugal whirling motion at such high velocity that said fluid is thrown about thereby and finely divided to permanently change the same directly from a viscous to a mobile fluid, solely by the mechanical forces exerted thereon while subjected to said whirling and without addition of heat thereto while so subjected.

17. The method of permanently decreasing the viscosity of a sticky liquid of high viscosity comprising introducing said viscous liquid into a chamber in a viscous condition in such quantity as to permit said liquid. to be thrown about in said chamber, and imparting thereto, while confined in i said chamber, a violent centrifugal whirling motion at such velocity that said liquid is whipped about thereby in said chamber, to permanently change the characteristics thereof solely by the mechanical forces exerted thereon while subjected to said whirling, to produce a I film of said liquid mist.

19. The method of preparing a dry feed composition comprising a cereal and a sticky viscous liquid, which comprises processing said liquid by whirling a quantity of said viscous liquid, while confined in a chamber, at avelocity such as to increase the fluidity thereof and reduce the stickiness thereof permanently mechanically by said whirling to vproduce a finely divided mist of non-viscous liquid particles. spraying said mist on said cereal to impregnate said cereal with said processed liquid in such finely divided non-viscous state, and drying said impregnated cereal without application of heat thereto by exposure to the atmosphere. v s H. SCHMIDT. 

